Customer Reviews

Hawkman: Wings of Fury (Book 3)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The first thing that should be pointed out about "Hawkman: Wings Of Fury" is that, while the previous volume ("Enemies & Allies") reprinted #s 7 - 12 of the 2002 ongoing, this volume inexplicably skips #s 13 & 14 and starts with # 15, reprinting that issue through # 22. Perhaps the other issues are in another collection somewhere or perhaps they're only available in their original form. Nevertheless, those issues are the ones that follow up the cliffhanger from the end of the Enemies & Allies collection, and have some major revelations in them, so I'd recommend tracking those two down before reading the issues in "Wings Of Fury". They're excellent, and usually not too difficult to find.

Moving on to the Trade Paperback in question, # 15 kicks off the three-part arc 'The Thanagarian', the first storyline in the 2002-onwards ongoing to tie in the Hawk history from the late80s/90s - the Katar Hol (Thanagar's version of Hawkman)/Shayera Thal (Hawkwoman, from Thanagar)/Hawkworld aka. the planet Thanagar, etc. - into the current status quo with the reborn versions of the original Hawks. Although this arc is clearly one of the weaker ones in recent years's Hawk history, it's still an exciting, imaginative and rewarding tale with its own standard of excellence; by saying all that I guess I'm showing how high I feel the overall bar on the Hawkman books of this era has been set. In normal circumstances it would have seemed amazing, but there's a noticeable drop-off from #s 1-14, mostly involving an inconstistency with Hawkman himself. I know Carter has an unusually high level of loyalties toward his allies and friends, but it seemed uncharacteristic for him to be so condoning and unfazed by the recklessly destructive actions of one of his colleagues. It's not like he's letting anyone get away with murder, and I know there's a very definate savage side and a tendency towards impulsiveness within Hawkman himself, but something about the situation in question just didn't ring true. Apart from that, 'The Thanagarian' is a fine arc, drwaing multiple elements from the '90s Hawkman stories skillfully enough to provide a real treat for all of us who enjoyed that era of the Hawk mythos in addition to the current one. The art, as usual, is tremendous - detailed, expressive, and dynamic, and enlivened by some of the best coloring work in comics coutesy of John Kalisz.

Hawkman 18 & 19 are both single-issue stories, which you can't really say too much about in a writeup like this without giving everything away. No. 18, while not set in the past like Hawkman # 7, is similar in tone to the 'Past Lives' story presented there in that it delves again into the area of past incarnations of the series's characters, this time focusing of Carter's past life as Koenraad Von Grimm in centuries-ago Germany. Unfolding both in brief flashbacks to that time and in the present frame during Carter's stay in the city where he once lived, it's a powerful, emotion-driven story that adds even more depth to the continuing Hawk saga. José Luis Garcia-Lopez steps in as guest artist and gives a unique look to the story that well captures the historical feel. Scot Eaton and Ray Kryssing step in as guest penciler and guest inker for # 19 and bring some wickedly cool looks to the characters. Number nineteen brings Black Adam into the pages of Hawkman (as well as another, more surprising-to-see character who's captured excellently by Eaton and Kryssing). This issue fits in with the recurring issues over in "JSA" where they were building up with Black Adam into a major storyline, one that would reach its culmination in the "Black Reign" event (available in Trade Paperback under the JSA banner). Excellent issue in its own right, excellent issue as part of a longer, gradually developing plot in the JSA and Hawkman ongoings.

Regular artists Rags Morales and Michael Bair return for the 3-part "Headhunter" saga. The Headhunter is a new character expressly created for the purpose of becoming one of Hawkman's great perpetual arch-enemies (like Lex Luthor for Superman or The Joker for Batman, for example) and the character gets off to a great start. He's a mysterious, vicious killer who's got some really different things going on; he seems like the kind of being a horror movie could center around, or who would stalk through the pages of a horror anthology like Vertigo's "Flinch". A great foil for Hawkman who, along with Hawkgirl, are continuing throughout this whole collection to be defined as two of the main pillars of the DC Universe. The "Headhunter" arc also sees a 'cutting-loose' kind of event that the series has been feeling like it could erupt since day one. One small glitch in the story with the timing is its only flaw, in a scene where the police outside should be rushing a building but inexplicably don't, just to give two characters a chance to have a verbal confrontation that should have taken place at a different spot in the tale. Apparantly, though, there wasn't room, and it got squeezed in where it didn't fit. This kind of thing doesn't happen often in Hawkman, and it doesn't happen often in anything writer Geoff Johns is penning, but it managed to slip in here. A minor quibble, overall.

And overall, the verdict on "Wings Of Fury" is that it drops a tad below the previous two Hawkman Trade Paperbacks, but is still a whopping good volume, probably a nine or 9.5 on a scale of ten. The stuff in these Hawk collections is some of DC's most essential reading.

After this, this particular Hawkman series starts its slow decline, and not so slow cancellation. However, the Hawkman series with Johns writing and what he came up with is definitely worth a look, particularly for the relationship between the characters, and his brutality in the bits where he is actually fighting, making him somewhat different than the other heroes, rather than just a generic flying guy.

I loved Hawkman as a child growing up in the 60's. he was my favorite member of the JLA. I got this book to share some memories with my 8 year old but beheadings are a little too gross for me. I guess I'll try to find a Classic Anthology with some reprints from a simplar time.